Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

Vic Vance arrives in 1984 Vice City with an army job and responsibilities that refuse to stay neatly separate. Before long, a stolen car and another dangerous favor are looking more dependable than his original plans.

Vice City Stories gives the PSP another substantial criminal playground, with business takeovers adding work between the story missions. Swimming, flying, and a familiar collection of side jobs give a short trip across town plenty of opportunities to go wrong.

Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

A mission marker promises a job, but getting there can involve stealing a better car, shaking a pursuit, or deciding a helicopter looks more useful. Vice City remains a city worth crossing even when the next objective is on the other side of the map.

The business system gives that wandering a more persistent purpose. Attack a rival operation, take over the site, and choose a line of criminal work that can bring in money while making the surrounding gangs less comfortable.

Vic can swim, and the portable game has room for boats, aircraft, and familiar emergency-service side jobs. Those options help a failed mission become a different afternoon rather than an immediate reason to switch the PSP off.

Graphics

Palm-lined roads and pastel buildings keep the setting recognizable while the earlier time period gives familiar places a different context. The useful achievement is fitting a busy, navigable city onto the PSP screen without losing the sense that there is another district beyond the next bridge.

Story

The story takes place two years before Vice City, with Vic Vance trying to look after his family while his military career comes apart. That starting point gives his first steps into crime a more personal push than simply chasing another payday.

His brother Lance supplies company and complications as the pair build a position in the city. Their ambitions put them among rivals whose friendships tend to last only as long as the next deal.

Knowing the later game adds an uneasy edge to the prequel. The pleasure still comes from seeing how Vic handles the people and jobs immediately in front of him, even when the city already feels dangerously familiar.

Overall Experience

Vice City Stories is generous with things to do, particularly for a handheld release. The business takeovers give the city an ongoing argument that survives beyond any single story mission.

Its busiest moments also demand the usual patience with traffic, pursuit, and a plan that collapses just before the destination. A small screen does not make the consequences of a reckless getaway any smaller.

For players who want a portable return to this setting, Vic’s journey has enough character and activity to justify another long visit. Arrive for a mission and expect to spend time sorting out the trouble collected on the way.